Business Immigration

Many businesses in Boston conduct employee searches on a global scale and often find that the best candidates for their open positions reside in other countries. As such, they typically need assistance with business immigration matters. Bringing foreign nationals into the United States for work is an involved process that requires advanced knowledge and attention to detail. As such, companies hiring international workers should engage immigration attorneys to help them handle their immigration matters. The Boston business immigration attorneys of O’Neil & Hauser P.C. dedicate over ninety percent of their practice to immigration, and we are proficient at handling the complexities of business immigration matters. All of our lawyers have in excess of twenty years of experience working in immigration law and have developed the skills needed to work efficiently and accurately. Our office is in Boston, and we routinely represent businesses in immigration matters around the world.

Companies interviewing global candidates must take certain measures to ensure that they can legally bring any foreign nationals they hire to the United States in a timely manner. Generally, for an employee offered work on a permanent basis, employers must obtain a permanent labor certification, which is referred to as PERM, from the Department of Labor (DOL), prior to filing an immigration petition with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). To complete a PERM application, the company must demonstrate that there are inadequate workers in the United States that are qualified, available, and willing to accept a position in the area of intended employment at the prevailing wage. The company also has to show that hiring the foreign worker will not negatively affect the working conditions or wages of similarly employed workers in the United States.

If the DOL certifies a company’s PERM application, the company will either need to seek an immigrant work visa from USCIS or, if the employee already has a work visa, verify the employee’s work authorization via Form I-9.

An employer offering an employee work on a permanent basis must file an Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker  Form I-140 with USCIS for the suitable employment-based preference category. Categories include Employment First Preference (E1): Priority Worker and Persons of Extraordinary Ability; Employment Second Preference (E2): Professionals Holding Advanced Degrees and Persons of Exceptional Ability; Employment Third Preference (E3): Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Unskilled Workers (Other Workers); Employment Fourth Preference (E4): Certain Special Immigrants; and Employment Fifth Preference (E5): Immigrant Investors.

Once USCIS approves a petition, it is sent to the National Visa Center (NVC). The NVC will assign the petition a case number and will ultimately instruct the applicant to complete Form DS-261, Choice of Address and Agent unless the applicant already has an attorney. The applicant must then pay any necessary fees and submit the required immigrant visa documents.

Once the NVC receives all of the required documents, the applicant will be interviewed. The officer who conducts the interview will evaluate whether the applicant is eligible to receive an immigrant visa in accordance with the United States immigration laws. Ink-free, digital fingerprint scans will be taken on the day of the interview.

There are many ways businesses can bring workers to the United States, and it is vital for any business faced with an immigration matter to consult an attorney to avoid making careless mistakes that can cause denials or delays of work visas. If you need assistance with a business immigration matter, the capable Boston attorneys of O’Neil & Hauser P.C. can advise you of your options and aid you in pursuing your desired resolution in an efficient manner.  Many of our attorneys are bilingual, and we offer translation services in numerous languages, such as Portuguese, Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, Greek, Italian, French, and Arabic. We have established a good relationship with several government agencies over the years, and we are members of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. You can contact us through our online form or by calling our Boston office at (617) 426-8100 to set up a consultation.